It's Gotta Be Love
by TouchOfViolet
Summary: Wally West and Linda Park are meant to be together. And she'll realize that. Eventually.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Justice League and all related characters are the property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers. I own nothing. Well, that's not true. I have three sticks of gum, a nickel, and some pocket lint.

**A/N**: There is no real excuse for this story. I've just wanted Linda to be added into the cartoon for the longest time. And since they haven't yet, and what with the Flash seeming to like Fire, I guess this story is kinda AU.  
Many _many_ thanks to Jo for putting up with me and sorting through all the crap I manage to write down. You rock my socks off, Jo.  
Also, I may have taken some liberties with Linda's character. Um….shhhhh.  
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**It's Gotta Be Love  
**by: TouchofViolet  
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Sometimes Linda really hated her job.

She blew her black bangs off her face, glaring up at the podium. Superman had called a press conference in honor of the opening of the new Justice League embassy based in Metropolis. And, of course, her station had sent _her _to do the fluff piece.

Interviewing superheroes about the new embassy had been done so many times in the passed month it honest to God made her sick to her stomach. Or maybe it was the tuna sandwich Gus had shoved down her throat for lunch.

She sighed. _Cameramen_.

It was hard to focus on whatever Superman was saying, though that probably didn't matter. He always talked about basically the same crap: _Truth, Justice, and the American Way_. Fantastic.

The throng of other reporters around her irritated Linda to no end. She didn't like to be in crowds. Or to be touched by strangers. Or to be sweaty. And right now all of those things were happening. Superman was really drabbling on and on, and the other Original Masks were standing behind him, watching him drabble like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

They'd probably do anything, though, if it would make people forget the fact that their other watchtower obliterated several city blocks with its giant Laser of Freaking Doom they didn't _tell_ anybody about.

Everyone applauded and Superman stood back from the podium. The Seven left the stage. Linda grabbed Gus by the hand and ran towards them. If she was lucky, maybe she could get an interview with Shayera. As far as she could remember, she hadn't spoken to a reporter since the Invasion. That interview would certainly make this trip worthwhile.

The other reporters all started making their way to other superheroes, most of them calling for Superman. Several of them had cornered Wonder Woman. She noticed a small crowd around the Martian.

She wanted the Thanagarian.

She could see the redheaded, winged woman make her way off the stage and to the tower, the Batman at her side. Linda ran at her, microphone waving in the air.

"Shayera!"

The winged woman made no motion she had heard the reporter. She kept walking, talking to the Batman.

"SHAYE-oomph!" Linda ran head first into a green and black being, her hair flying. She spit strands of hair out of her mouth and looked up.

The Green Lantern was staring down at her, eyebrow cocked.

_You'll do._

Linda blinked her brown eyes. She peeled herself off of the mask and flashed a smile."Green Lantern. I'm Linda Park with Central City News. I have questions for you." She grabbed his arm and looked at Gus.

He had the camera on his shoulder, viewfinder in his eye. He gave her a thumbs up sign.

"Green Lantern," Linda started again, holding the microphone up to her mouth. "Does the new embassy harbor any weapons of mass destruction the League isn't telling anyone about?"

"Uh." His unnaturally green eyes were filled with shock by her abrasiveness. He took several steps away from her. She closed in the gap.

"It's been rumored that you and Shayera had a romantic relationship before the Thanagarian invasion. Were you aware of the oncoming attack? Have you two resumed the relationship since her return? Where was she all those months we were cleaning up after her people?"

He slowly shook his head, looking around. "I, um." He raised his hands, signaling to someone she couldn't see. "You said you were from Central City, right?"

Linda nodded. "Oh. No. Wait, don't-"

A sudden wind whipped her hair and skirt around. She felt an arm attack her shoulders in a hug. "Hello, Linda!"

Her eyes crossed. "Oh, God."

"Miss me?"

"Not really, Flash. Please stop touching me."

The Flash shook his head. "Come on. You know you love it."

She elbowed him hard in the stomach. He grunted, but nonetheless removed the offending appendage. "Like a root canal."

Linda looked at her cameraman, who shrugged and pulled the camera off his shoulder. "Green Lantern ran away," he stated behind his bushy mustache.

She sighed, raking her fingers through her hair. "I seem to have that effect on people."

"So I've noticed!" The Flash proclaimed with a grin on his face. "But, it's why I love ya, baby."

Linda turned a glare on him so fierce it would have sent a hungry lion running. "I hate you."

He shook his head and chuckled quietly. "You say that, but you don't mean it."

"I don't mean it?" Linda exclaimed, amazed. "Of COURSE I mean it! Why would I like you, Flash? You immature, arrogant, little twit! You treat me like _crap_."

"What are you talking about?"

"The first interview I ever had with you, all you did was hit on me. I'd ask you questions, and you'd ask me out to dinner. You treated me like a joke. Like nothing I had to say mattered. Like I was just a piece of meat for you to ogle." Linda looked up into his masked face. Her eyes were sad, her mouth a frown. "I've worked very hard to get where I am today, Flash. I think I deserve to be treated with some respect."

Before he could respond, Linda and Gus started walking away.

"Linda!" He called after her. "Wait, I-"

"FLASH!" Reporters ran at him, microphones in the air. "FLASH!" They circled around him, shouting questions about the embassy. He sighed at the microphones shoved in his face, but answered their questions anyway, watching Linda walk away out of the corner of his eye.

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Wally smiled when he saw her through the window of Sal's Diner. She was shoveling a massive burger in her mouth, ketchup and mustard smearing her porcelain skin. She put the burger down and reached for a napkin, burping.

She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He shoved his hands in his jean pockets and headed for the door of the diner. Wally West had met TV's Linda Park only about a week after the Flash had. And though the Flash meeting the young reporter had been a coincidence, Wally's meeting had been carefully planned. He discovered through a bit of detective work (or, _stalking_, if you will) that she ate at Sal's at least three times a week.

With that piece of knowledge, meeting her as Wally became cake. And the funny thing was, Linda actually liked Wally. She was mean to Flash, what with all the yelling and the hitting and the name-calling, but she was always nice to Wally.

He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

A bell rang when he opened the door to the diner, and several of the patronages glanced up to see who the newest customer was. The waitress from behind the counter smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back and headed over to Linda's booth.

"Hey, Linda." He greeted, standing by her side.

She looked up at him from behind the massive burger. "HMMF!" Linda said with a mouthful of burger. She motioned to the seat at the other side of the booth like she wanted him to sit down.

He complied.

Linda swallowed and put the burger down. "Hi, Wally! I'll buy you a burger." She motioned at the waitress from behind the counter who nodded back at her. "How are you?"

Wally grinned at her and gave a shrug. _A burger. Singular. Wonderful._ "Fine, fine. No complaints. How is my favorite reporter?"

She shook her head and sighed. "They sent me to Metropolis for the opening of the Justice League embassy."

Wally feigned a look of surprise, and managed a grimace. "You ran into _him_, huh?"

Linda rolled her brown eyes. "Of COURSE I did. Which just made the wonderful fluff piece that much better." She absentmindedly started moving the salt and pepper shakers. "I was trying to get an interview with Shayera, you know. Because she hasn't done an interview since the invasion. And well," Linda swallowed, "I ran into the Green Lantern. I started asking him questions, but he called the Flash over and then he started with the touching and the what not and," She growled in frustration, throwing her hands in the air, "and I just hate him! That immature, arrogant little, little…little-"

"Twit," Wally finished for her, reaching for the French fries on her plate.

Linda nodded. "_Yeah_! He has some _nerve_. Just because he's a superhero and really, really, _really_ ripped doesn't mean he has any right to hit on me." She took a big bite of her burger and chewed for a little while. After swallowing, she said, "I mean, not that I look at his bulging muscles. Or think about them often. Or anything."

Wally hid his giant grin behind a handful of fries. "Well," he said with his mouthful, "I'm sorry he bothered you."

She shrugged. "At least it was actually interesting. The rest of the opening was boring and self-indulgent." Linda sighed dreamily and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "Why can't more guys be like you, Wally?"

He smiled softly at her. "You know, I was wondering the same thing."  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Justice League and all related characters. Um, I do have a Paul Dini autograph, though. I mean, that counts for something….right?

**A/N**: In all honesty, I never intended to write this story. I sat down at my computer at three o'clock in the morning a week or so ago, and out came the previous chapter. After I wrote it, I never intended anyone to read it. I did send it to Jo, who then convinced me to post it. That being said, I'm sort of writing this as I go. I'm hoping to post one chapter a week, but bear (bare?) with me if a chapter is a little late.

Review responses are located at the bottom.  
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Chapter Two

Wally held open the door for his companion, who hesitated before she reached the doorway to smile and wave behind her. "See you tomorrow, Brooke!" She called.

The waitress behind the counter waved back. "Bye, Linda."

Linda stepped passed Wally and onto the sidewalk, taking in a deep breath. "I love Central City this time of day."

"Sunset?" He questioned. They started walking shoulder to shoulder down the sidewalk. His mind briefly registered her hand knocking against his own.

She nodded and smiled. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Wally gave a shrug. "Hey, thanks for the burger."

Her hand knocked against his again. "Thanks for walking me home."

He smiled down at her, and she smiled up at him. And cautiously her hand snuck its way into his. His eyes widened and he stared dead ahead, totally unsure of what to do.

Wally and Linda had never, ever, _ever_ moved passed the "just friends" stage, though God knows he'd wanted to move past it since he met her. But he had never made his move. And now, she just, she just _went_ and _made the move_. He wondered for a moment if maybe this was a "just friends" hand holding thing, but the thumb gently running over his knuckles told him otherwise.

"N-no problem," he stuttered and gave an awkward chuckle.

They walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, for several city blocks. Neither of them said anything the entire way. Wally thought of things he could say. Smooth, smart, and funny things. Things like: _You pretty lady_. And, his personal favorite: _Gaaah, um, sun…nice to set_.

But nothing came out.

He lost track of time somewhere down the sidewalk, and was caught off guard when they made it to the entrance of her apartment building. Linda stood in front of him and took his other hand in hers.

"Thank you, again, Wally." She smiled, her eyes wrinkling around the corners.

Wally opened and closed his mouth, smiling dimwittedly. "Y-yeaaaah."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Wally."

"Night, L-linda," said Wally, who then watched her walk away and into the apartment complex. The doors closed and he let out what can only be described as a primal growl. "Stupid!" He exclaimed, hitting himself in the head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, _stupid_!"

He knocked a fist against his forehead and started his trek home. "She's just standing there, WAITING for you to kiss her, and all you can manage is 'yeaaaaaaaaaaah'. Stupid, Wally. Stupid, stupid!"

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"This is so stupid."

Linda glared at her cameraman, and he shrugged and grinned lazily back. "It's news, kid."

"This," she pointed a finger at the tall oak tree, "is not news. This," her arm shook with anger, "is a cat who gets stuck in a tree, and a boy who tries to save the cat then also gets stuck in the tree, and the family calls the fire department. This," she said, finally lowering her arm, "is _not_ news."

Gus shrugged and messed with his camera.

"What do they think I am? Some sort of…of media monkey they can just thrust in front of a camera and expect to do tricks?" She blew her bangs off her face, planting a fist on her left hip. "I am better than this, Gus. I am so much better than this. I could actually be reporting on _real _stories. But no, they send the new girl out to do the 'Cat and Boy Stuck in Tree' stories!"

Gus put the camera on his shoulder, and looked through the viewfinder. "Five. Four."

Linda shook her head. "And I'm not even _that new_ anymore! Eight months, _eight months_, and I'm still doing this crap!"

"Three. Two."

"Sometimes I really hate this job."

"One. And, you're on."

Linda raised the microphone to her lips. "I'm Linda Park for Central City News, here at 5th Street, where a young boy and his beloved cat are stuck two stories above ground in a massive oak tree. Firefighters are on the scene and are working to get the boy down. No report on how the boy and the cat managed to get in stuck in the tree just yet, but we'll be sure to bring updates to you as soon as we get them.

"More at eleven."

"And, you're off." Gus took the camera off his shoulder and offered her another lazy smile. "Good monkey."

She glared at him again, but he just laughed it off and took the camera closer to the firefighters. The ladder was up against the tree, awaiting the men to use it to rescue the boy and cat, who were looking rather pleased with themselves at the moment. "Go ahead, guys." Gus said, the camera back on his shoulder.

The firemen started climbing up the ladder.

"Am I gonna be on the news?" The boy called down from the tree.

"That's right, kid." Gus replied. "You made the eleven o'clock edition too."

Linda was watching a woman who she supposed was the boy's mother run around the firefighters and yell instructions at them when a familiar wind kicked up around her. She sighed as she felt her hair whip in the breeze.

_Figures._

The breeze stopped, and a hesitant voice from behind said, "Hey, Linda."

"Hi, Flash." She greeted, crossing her arms against her chest and staring at the tree. Maybe he would get the hint and leave her alone.

He stepped towards her. "I want to talk to you."

"I want you to go away," said Linda, casting a casual glare over her shoulder at the superhero in red.

Flash looked slightly taken aback. "What? Why?"

She turned around and threw her arms in the air. "I'm reporting on a boy and a cat stuck in a tree! This is kind of a low moment for me, and I don't really want you around to rub it in my face."

"I'm not here to rub it in your face." He said.

Linda chuckled and started walking away from him. "Whatever, Flash. Just leave now."

"I can get you an interview with Shayera."

She stopped in mid step. "What?" Linda asked. She spun around her heels, glaring fiercely. "What did you just say?"

"I can get you an interview with Shayera." Flash repeated, smirking.

Her face twitched. "Wh-wh-what?"

For the third time, the Flash said, "I can get you an interview with Shayera."

She blinked at him slowly for a few moments. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," he said, "I just…_respect_ you as a reporter, and that's enough for Shayera to do an interview with you."

Linda looked at him quizzically, a fist on her left hip again. "No catch, huh?" She asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "So, you aren't gonna like, show up at my apartment in swim trunks? With champagne? And chocolate? And going, 'I got you that interview. Won't you let me in?'"

Flash grinned sloppily. "Have you thought about this?"

"That is _not _the point!" She shook her head fervently and started pacing. "You can really get me that interview?"

He gave a nod. "Sure thing. The only requirement Shayera has is that its _you_ who conducts the interview and no one else."

Linda stopped pacing. She shook her head again and looked around, her gaze falling on the young boy finally being pulled out of the tree by a firefighter. She rolled her eyes. "What have I got to loose?" She said to herself, and walked towards the Flash with an outstretched hand.

"Deal?" She said.

Flash took her hand in his and shook. "Deal."  
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**A/N**: I would like to thank **Mybfsingsmmmbop** – love your name ;), **Super Chocolate Bear** – I was watching the previews for 'Flash and Substance' and for like, a second, there's a dark haired girl. I'm really hoping that's Linda, **Spin-Firestorm**, **koalared** – hehe, yes, **BrucesGirl**, **Gotham's Princess**, **Lady Jaye1** – me too :), **Lavender Wonder**, **essence of jelly**, **ColdFingertips**, and **Ellen** – lol "Clark Syndrome". And it's okay to be in denial….you aren't alone, for reviewing! You guys _rock_. 

And, just fyi, reviews help me update faster.(/obvious hinting)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: If you assume that I own Justice League or any related characters, you are assuming incorrectly, my friend.

**A/N**: No new announcements. Just that you'd be amazed by how much trouble this chapter gave me. It wasn't so much writing it, as it was correcting it. It took my beta (Jo) and I several tries. But I think it's ready public viewing. Maybe.

I must warn you though: this chapter is filled to the brim with action. If you have a weak stomach, please leave now.(/sarcasm)

Review responses are located at the bottom.  
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Chapter Three

Linda smiled at her hairdresser's reflection. "It's perfect, Alison."

The blond woman smiled back. "Yeah." She shook her head. "It's amazing how just a little curl can add so much volume."

Linda ran her fingers through her hair. "Thank you so much."

Alison shrugged, gathering together her curling iron, comb, brush, and hair clips in her black bag. "Hey, it's my job."

There was a knock on the dressing room door. "Come on in," Linda called. Her boss, Mr. Grant, a chubby, middle aged man, stepped inside with a scowl on his face.

Alison zipped up her bag and walked to the open door. "Break a leg, Linda."

Linda smiled as the hairdresser left the room, but as soon as the door was closed the smile faded. "Hello, Mr. Grant."

He nodded and waved a hand dismissively. "I just wanted to wish you good luck. It's a big interview."

"Yeah." She said, standing up from her chair. "I know. And I wanted to talk to you about just that."

He arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Mr. Grant," she started, "I landed the biggest interview this station has ever seen. In fact, it might be the biggest interview of the year! I deserve a promotion, Mr. Grant. I deserve better pay and I should be able to choose my own stories."

He shook his head and sighed. "Linda," he started, his voice trailing off.

"Mr. Grant," She retorted, looking at him pointedly.

He sighed again. "Look." His voice was stern. "You landed a big interview. That's great. Here's the deal: you get the Mask to cry, you'll get the promotion."

She squinted in confusion. "What?" Linda asked.

"Make her cry. I don't care how. Go all _Barbara Walters_ on her. Or _Oprah_. Whatever. She cries, you get the promotion. Otherwise it's just _another_ bland interview with a superhero. God knows, we've seen enough of those these past few months."

"So," she began, speaking slowly, "if I can get her to cry on TV, I'll get a raise in pay and I'll be able to do my own investigative journalism?"

He nodded.

She smiled broadly. "Mr. Grant, you got yourself a deal."

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Flash happily stuffed himself with donuts. They were delicious! Some of them were glazed, some of them were covered in chocolate and sprinkles, and some of them were filled with cherry goo. He'd occasionally glance over his shoulder and watch the crew set up for the big interview, but mostly he was occupied with the donuts.

So he was relatively startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around quickly, almost dropping the glazed donut he held in his hand. "Oh. Hey, Shayera! You look _beautiful_."

Shayera touched her red-hair unsurely. It hung in ringlets around her face and down her shoulders. "This took a team of three people."

"Well," he shrugged. "You look fantastic." He shoved the glazed donut in his mouth.

She looked around, straightening out imaginary wrinkles in her knee-length khaki shirt. Flash looked around with her. Everything was really calm. There were a handful of men in headsets, which were basically like headphones with a microphone attached, messing with cables. A couple more men were messing with the three video cameras facing the set at different angles. The set was nothing to brag about: two chairs set up before two fake, blue painted walls.

He supposed it was meant to look like someone's living room. Well, someone's half a living room.

To be perfectly honest, it was more like someone's corner of an undecorated living room. The beige chairs did look comfortable though.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Some what, I guess." Shayera gave a shrug. "I don't know."

"Well, don't worry. Linda is a great reporter. She'll do right by you." Flash picked up another donut. "I mean, I know that a certain reporter at the Daily Planet was a little ticked that he didn't get the scoop…"

She smirked. "He'll live."

Flash grinned and ate his donut.

"You really like this girl, huh?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

He nodded, swallowing. "_So much_. But it's like…" he waved his hands around, "it's not working out very well."

Shayera looked at him quizzically. "Are you just an ass around her?"

"Yeah!" Flash said, nodding emphatically. "It's like, _with_ the mask I try too hard. And," he lowered his face so it was closer to hers, and whispered, "_without_ it, I don't try hard enough."

She made a sympathetic sound and put a hand on his cheek. "So, you're just a doofus."

"_Yeah_," he said, leaning into her touch. "Hey!"

She laughed and pulled her hand away. "Don't worry. You just gotta find the middle."

"The middle?"

"Yeah, you know." Shayera explained, reaching for one of the few remaining donuts, "Where you are between wearing the mask and being without it."

He furrowed his brow and grinned again. "That's rather profound of you."

"Thank you," she took a bite of her donut. "I have my moments."

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"Oh, Linda. There you are."

The reporter glanced around, smiling when she noticed the woman behind her who was wearing a headset. "Hey, Janice." She said.

Janice nodded, grabbing Linda by the arm and guiding her out of the hallway outside the dressing room.

"I was just going to get some donuts," Linda said, staring unsurely at the hand pulling on her arm.

Janice nodded again, and Linda wondered if she was nodding at her or whatever she was hearing in her headset. "We're gonna start in five minutes. Are you ready? You look terrific. Have you met Shayera?"

Linda responded with the ever intelligent, "Um..."

"She's over at the craft services table." Janice began, "I'll introduce you." With her freehand she moved the microphone closer to her mouth. "Yes. Yes. Alright. Mmhhhm. Okay. No. No, sir. Alright. Yes, sir. Thank you." She moved the microphone away from her mouth.

Linda blinked at her a few times. She decided it would be safer not to say anything.

"Ah, there they are." Janice said, pointing straight ahead.

Linda followed her point to the craft services table, where the Flash and Shayera stood. Her chest tightened. They were talking. And laughing. And touching. She caressed his face, and he leaned in to her touch.

For some reason, Linda didn't feel so confident anymore.

"I have my moments," she heard the winged woman say before they came to a halt a few feet away from the superheroes.

"Shayera Hol," Janice began, finally letting go of Linda's arm. "This is Linda Park. She'll be interviewing you today."

Shayera swallowed a bite of donut and held out her right hand. "It's really a pleasure to meet you, Miss Park. Flash tells me good things about you."

"Oh, does he?" She asked, forcing a smile on her face and casting a sideways glance at the hero in red. She shook Shayera's hand. "Well, I must say the pleasure is all mine, Miss Hol. It is an honor to meet you, and to get to interview you."

Janice nodded again. "Affiliate stations are going to pick up the broadcast so it'll air simultaneously across the country Friday night." She smiled, moving the microphone to her mouth again. "It's very exciting. Excuse me," Janice started walking away, but paused momentarily, "We're gonna start in three, okay?"

"So," the thanagarian began, polishing off her donut. "Do you have any advice?"

"Don't worry about the taping," Linda told Shayera. "It's not live, so we'll have time to edit it. Just be yourself."

She nodded.

Linda shrugged, grabbing the last donut off the table. "I guess that's easier said than done."

"Yeah," Shayera gave a half-hearted laugh.

"You'll do fine!" Flash told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You look fantastic, and with Linda here, looking equally fantastic by the way, interviewing you, you'll come off like the amazing person you are."

She smiled and leaned against him. "Thanks, Flash."

Linda discreetly rolled her eyes and took another bite of her donut.

"Hey, ladies," one of the crew began, walking over to the group. "Why don't you two go ahead and sit down at the set so we can get the lighting right?"

The reporter finished her donut and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Let's get this started, Shayera."  
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**A/N**: I would like to thank **Jaye**, **Mybfsingsmmbop**, **koalared**, **Spin-Firestorm** – lo! Um…maybe? (haha, which question does that answer belong to?), **Anime Fan Team**, **misakichi1**, **Herenschim** – I wouldn't mind if he showed up at my door like that either, **Coldfingertips** – yeah, ya should, and **iamhollywood**, for reviewing. 

Reviews make me _soooo_ happy!(/Men In Tights reference)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Justice League or any related characters. I'm just a broke college student, who has to beg her parents for gas money.

**A/N**: Welcome back, my naughty little monkeys! (I'm sorry, I've been watching waaaay too much Craig Ferguson lately.) Anyway, w00t! A mid-week post! You can thank my day off from school for this.

Review responses located at the bottom.  
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Chapter Four  
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Linda smiled sweetly at the Thanagarian sitting across from her. They had just exchanged the on camera "hello"s and "how do you do"s, so now all Linda had to do was actually start interviewing.

And make Shayera cry.

She reasoned that making her cry shouldn't be too hard. After all, she watched _Oprah _every day.

_First things first: make her feel comfortable._

"So," Linda began, sitting back in her chair, "I think the first time I ever heard of you was, well, just before the League officially formed."

Shayera nodded. "Yeah, during the invasion we came together."

"One thing I've always wondered about is: how did the League come together? Was there a phone call, or, a signal in the sky?"

Shayera crossed her arms against her chest. "Actually, Martian Manhunter, the big green guy, is a telepath. And he sort of summoned us all to the same spot."

_Uh oh_. Linda realized this wasn't working out to her advantage. One question in and the alien was already crossing her arms and looking annoyed. Okay, _Oprah_ never had this problem.

"So," she began, forcing a smile, "what did you all do after you were gathered? What was your plan of attack?"

"Oh we split into groups. I went with Superman, the Flash with Green Lantern, and Batman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter were together."

Linda nodded. "How did you and Superman do?"

"Not good," Shayera said. "We were captured. The rest of the team tried to get us out, but they ended up getting caught too. It really looked like we had lost the battle, that the fight was over. But, it turned out that Batman and Manhunter had a card up their sleeves. And we managed to pull through."

The reporter nodded again, crossing her legs. "Tell me about what it was like in the early days of the League. We're you friends with your teammates?"

Shayera pushed strands of red-hair off her face. "I think, in the beginning, it wasn't about building friendships. There was a certain level of respect we all held for each other, but we weren't trying to be friends. Back then, it was more about learning to trust each other. I mean, if you're in a team with the sole intent of saving the world, you got to know your teammates have your back."

"Did you become friends?"

"Eventually." She responded. She looked away from the reporter, a wistful smile on her face. "Eventually."

_Alright, okay_. _Shayera seems to relax when she talks about her teammates. I can work with this._

"You and Wonder Woman were the only original female members. Did you two share any sort of a special bond because of this?"

Shayera gave a small shrug. "I think we may have looked out for each other the most. It," She hesitated, searching for a word, "it was kind of like having a sister. Some days you're at each others throat, the next you're the best of friends, but if the other one is ever in trouble you step up with a fierceness you didn't know you had."

"A love/hate kind of thing." Linda added.

Shayera nodded. "It was definitely _special_. I don't know if it was…close."

"Rumors," the reporter began, "have been going around about the relationship you had with the Green Lantern." Shayera froze, and Linda tried not to smirk. "Were you two romantically involved?"

"Uh," Shayera fidgeted ever so slightly. "Yeah." She shrugged and looked Linda in the eyes. "We were. But, after…." She swallowed hard and fidgeted again.

_Okay_. _Talking about the Invasion makes her uncomfortable_.

"I left," Shayera finally finished, "he moved on."

"Have you two resumed the relationship since your return?"

She shook her head. "_No_. No, he's moved on. And I…I respect that."

Linda cleared her throat and smiled a very large, very professional, very fake smile. "Well, I saw you earlier talking to Central City's own Flash." Her voice seemed really loud to her. Was she speaking loudly? She sounded really loud.

"You two seemed _very_ comfortable around each other." She forced her smile to grow bigger. "Are you two together?"

Shayera laughed. Out right and hysterically, she laughed. And laughed. And laughed. She raised a hand to wipe tears off her face, trying unsuccessfully to quell her laughter.

"I'm going to take that as a no," Linda said, and for the first time since she met Shayera her smile was not forced.

"Take it as a _hell_ no," Shayera managed, her laughter subsiding. She shook her head, a grin on her face. "No, no, _no_, we aren't together. We're just friends." Shayera leaned back in her chair, obviously making herself more comfortable.

Linda was ecstatic. She had just accomplished the first step, so now all she had to do was move on to the second.

She had to go in for the kill.

"Well, Shayera, I guess that leads us to…"

"Yeah," Shayera nodded. "I'm ready."

Linda uncrossed her legs. "I have heard stories of the Thanagarian Invasion from practically everyone. I've heard so many different reasons behind the Invasion that it's hard to sort out the truth from ridiculous lies. So, Shayera, tell me about the Invasion…from your point of view."

------

Flash watched the interview from a monitor that was located by the craft services table, and sipped on a mocha latte. It was going really well. Or, he assumed so. Shayera hadn't hurt anyone yet. He smiled.

_Linda _hadn't hurt anyone yet.

That was a pretty good indicator that maybe they'd all get out of this thing unscathed.

"Hey, kid." Flash heard a deep male voice say behind him. He spun around, almost dropping his latte, and saw the older gentleman with the bushy mustache that was always videotaping Linda.

"_Hey_!" He said, "You…you're that guy!"

The man held out his hand. "Gus Wright," he said, and Flash shook his hand. "Nice to finally introduce myself."

Flash nodded and started sipping at his latte again.

"Aw," Gus said, looking forlorn at the food table, "who ate all the donuts?"

The superhero choked on his drink. "I, um," he coughed, "saw Linda eat the last one."

Gus shook his head, and watched the monitor intently. "She can pack away food. You ever see her eat a steak?"

Flash told him that he had not.

"Consider yourself lucky." He sighed. "You'd never guess that someone that small could eat so much dead cow."

Flash chuckled and watched the reporter. "She is rather amazing." He said.

"You really _do_ like her." Gus stated, sounding astonished.

He smiled weakly in reply.

Gus shook his head again, and patted Flash's shoulder. "Poor sap."

------

That was it. It was all over. Everything she'd worked so hard for: gone. Finished. She'd forever be doing stories about boys stuck in trees.

She had her chance.

She had blown it.

All she had to do was make Shayera cry. That was it. It shouldn't have been too hard. And yet she had failed miserably. Unless you counted her tears of laughter.

Maybe Mr. Grant would count those. She really hoped he would, though she knew deep down he'd laugh at her if she suggested such a thing.

Linda maintained a professional smile and shook Shayera's hand again, thanking her on camera.

"All right, that's a wrap!" She heard the director say. "Good job, ladies."

She shook Shayera's hand again, looking around for her boss. Mr. Grant was standing by the director, a cross between a smirk and a frown on his face. She sighed and raked her fingers through her hair.

"You did a wonderful job, Shayera." Linda said, walking off the set to Mr. Grant.

"Thanks." Shayera replied, walking off the set to the Flash.

Linda stopped in front of her boss and wrung her hands together, trying very hard to find something to say.

He cleared his throat. "Look, Linda-"

"No, no. Mr. Grant, I know." She said, holding up her hands. " I know. It was just another bland interview with a superhero. I'll go ahead and get Gus and do the story about the new cafeteria in the seniors' center."

Mr. Grant chuckled. "That's not what I was going to say."

Linda's black eyebrows knitted together. "You weren't?"

"It wasn't just another bland interview with a superhero, Linda." He said. "It was a very good interview. And though she didn't cry, she opened up to you. You're a great reporter, Linda. And you deserve the promotion."

Linda blinked at her boss several times. "What?"

"You got the promotion."

She inhaled sharply. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, so much, Mr. Grant! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

------

"You were _terrific_, Shayera." Flash praised, grinning from ear to ear at his teammate. "The public is gonna love you."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you. I guess."

"Do you wanna go get some food? I know this diner that's got the best burgers in _probably_ the world."

Shayera shook her head. "Nah. I'm just gonna go get changed," she pointed her thumb in the direction Flash assumed the dressing rooms were. "I have monitor duty in an hour."

"Oh," Flash said, finishing off the last of his mocha latte. "Ouch."

"Tell me about it."

He gave her a hug. "I'll see you later then. I'm gonna hang around and talk to Linda."

She pulled away, smiling. "Alright, see you."

Flash watched her walk away. He threw his empty cup into the trashcan and started looking around for Linda. He didn't have to look very far, since she was running at him at a very high rate of speed.

"I got it!" She exclaimed, coming to a screeching halt in front of him.

"Got _what_…exactly?"

"The promotion!" Linda grabbed his gloved hands and held them in her own. "I get a raise and I get to do _actual _stories now! And, well, as much as it pains me to say this…it's really all because of you. You got me the interview, Flash. And, well…thank you. Thank you so much."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

Flash chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah. Hey. Well. Yeah."

"Let me treat you to ice-cream," she smiled.

He grinned sloppily. "Miss Park, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Uh, no." She said, glaring at him and finally letting go of his hands. "A date implies you actually like the other person. I'm just treating you to ice cream."

"Aww, come on." He said, throwing his arms into the air. "You know you love me."

"_Oh_. You _wish_!"

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **infrerredderierefetish** – lol! Well, I do like to use italics, **HorizonFilm**, **ColdFingertips**, **Jaye**, **Herenschim** - Milk and cookies you say, **Gotham's Princess**, **rogueandkurt**,** sokerfreek922**, and **marco cabrera**, for reviewing! You guys rock _out loud_, yo.

Do you like to read? Does new material interest you? Do fast updates make you happy? If you answered YES to any of these questions, reviewing is for you! So go ahead, review! It's what makes the world go round.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Justice League or any related characters, would I be spending my free time writing fanfiction? Well, yes. I probably would. But that isn't the point!

**A/N**: Um...hmmm. Wow….I don't think I have anything to say. This has, like, never happened to me. Huh...

Well, in any case, review responses are at the bottom!

And, this chapter takes place approximately two weeks after the previous chapter.  
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Chapter Five  
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Linda sighed quietly as the mobster taped her arms to the chair in the backroom of the massage therapists office.

_Yeah, right. Massage Therapists._

There were three of them in there with her. The biggest one, who in a roundabout way reminded Linda of Uncle Jesse from Full House, was the one using duck tape to keep her in a wooden chair. The scrawniest one of the three, with long, raggedy blonde hair, stood behind her, pointing a gun at the back of her head. And the third one, the leader of the group, paced slowly back in forth in front of her, shaking his head. She recognized him immediately as Alfonso Nico, Central City's own kingpin of crime.

Linda had heard stories of Nico. He'd been arrested for some of the worst crimes imaginable, but he always seemed to get out scott free. He obviously had some high officials paid off.

She supposed she should be scared. But, she was mostly annoyed. They had recognized her and crushed her glasses cam. Her very expensive glasses cam. At least she still had her pin camera. It was rather remarkable. It was a camera, that could even pick up audio, disguised as an American flag pin, and it was currently transmitting a live feed to her boys in the van across the street.

Hopefully they were calling the police or _something_ before she was killed.

On the bright side, however, this would make for an exceptional first story. Especially if she could get them to confess on camera.

"It was stupid of you," the leader said, picking up her destroyed glasses off a table, "to think glasses could disguise you, Miss Park."

The thug who looked like Uncle Jesse finished taping her down and stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Yeah, especially since you were just on TV two weeks ago interviewing Hawkgirl."

"Oh," Linda began, looking over her duck taped limbs, "You saw it? What did you think?"

"It was good!" he exclaimed. "You know, I really feel like I can trust Shayera again."

"Yeah," the scrawny guy with the gun said from behind her. "And I had no idea she and Green Lantern hooked up."

The Uncle Jesse look alike laughed. "Talk about your office romances, huh? And what about that thing with Wonder Woman? They have a '_special_ bond'. Totally sounds-"

"Will you shut up!" Nico exclaimed, smacking the speaking thug in the back of the head. "You _idiots_. We're working here."

"Sorry boss," the larger one said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah," the second one agreed. "Sorry."

He waved his hand in a way she supposed meant he forgave them. "It's alright. Now, lets go ahead and kill Miss Park here and we can continue on with our business."

"Just tell me why, Nico." Linda said sternly. "Why are _you_, of all people, behind _this_?"

Nico gave a half-hearted shrug. "Hey, organized crime costs money."

"And the girls who work here?"

"What about 'em?" He asked, glaring.

"They can't be older than sixteen. And I'm guessing none of them speak English. You can't honestly tell me they choose to work here." She said, returning his glare.

He shrugged again. "I'm not honestly telling you anything."

The scrawny thug behind her pressed the gun against her head.

"People know I'm here." She said. "If I suddenly show up after being in your business with a bullet hole in my skull, people will put the pieces together, Mr. Nico. They'll know you're the one who killed me."

Nico grinned wickedly, and held her chin between his thumb and his forefinger. "Oh, I doubt that, sweetheart. You know what? I'm thinking…after that interview you did with Shayera, the League got angry with you. Revealed a lot of their secrets, you know."

She glared at him. "You're going to frame my murder on the Justice League?"

He let go of her chin and stepped back, the smile still on his face.

"Johnny," he said, nodding at the scrawny boy. "Go-"

Mr. Nico never finished his sentence.

A flash of red knocked him to the ground.

------

Everything happened so fast that Linda wasn't certain what had happened at all. One moment she had been duck taped to a chair, surrounded by mobsters, with a gun pressed to her head. The next moment she was untied and dizzy, sitting on a rooftop at least two blocks away from where she had been.

"Huh," she whispered. Linda shook her head and struggled to her feet. She looked around in an attempt to assess the situation. She could find no possible exit. No door. No fire escape. No anything.

"Huh," Linda said again for good measure.

There were two possible reasons to explain how she had ended up on the rooftop: either she hit some sort of space/time warp, or the Flash had saved her. Being the ever-intelligent reporter she was, she was going to bet on the latter. So now all she'd have to do was wait around for him to let her off the roof.

Linda smiled despite herself. She – SHE – had just uncovered an amazing story! Her video might even help the police put Nico in jail. She was like a hero, or something.

And then the Flash had saved her. He had saved her and put her on a rooftop, probably so they could have privacy later. He was probably impressed with her bravery.

Linda quickly ran her fingers through her hair and licked her lips to moisten them. He was probably very impressed with her bravery.

Who wouldn't be?

She felt that all too familiar wind pick up around her, and she spun around just in time to see the hero in red finish his trek up the wall and on to the roof. "Flash!" She said smiling, "Th-"

"Linda," he interrupted, his voice several octaves deeper and much more stern then she was used to, "do you have _any_ idea how _stupid_ that was!"

"How stupid…what was?" She asked, blinking at him.

"You were almost _killed_, Linda! You went in alone, with absolutely no cover, and were almost killed!"

The Flash was yelling very loudly at her, and Linda wasn't exactly sure how to deal with it.

"I…" She said.

"I…." She said again.

"I…." She said just for the fun of it.

Linda planted a fist on her left hip. "I had some guys in a van."

"You," Flash said, pointing an accusing finger, "chased a stupid story, and got yourself ducked taped to a chair by mobsters. MOBSTERS, Linda! And they had a gun at your head!" He threw his arms in the air. "What were you thinking!"

She blinked at him again. "Don't yell at me."

"Don't yell at you?" The Flash echoed, yelling. "Don't YELL AT YOU? I haven't even STARTED yelling at you! What you did was stupid! Stupid beyond belief! I-"

"Stop yelling at me!" Linda screamed. "Stop it! You have no right to yell at me! And what I did was _not _stupid! I had a story, and I followed it. And I wouldn't have been killed!" She crossed her arms against her chest and turned away from him. "I have taken several self defense classes."

"And obviously those would have come in handy _after_ you've been strapped to a chair and have a gun pointed at your head!" yelled Flash.

Linda spun back around, glaring fiercely. "Okay! So, maybe I would have died! So what! At least I would have gone down with enough information to put Nico in jail! Did you _see _the girls he had working there?"

"So you would die for a good story?" Flash asked. He wasn't yelling anymore. He just sounded very upset.

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess I would."

"And what about the people you would leave behind, Linda? The people who care about you? The people who love you? What about them! You would just leave them!"

Linda stared at him incredulously. "What do you care?"

"I care _very_ much. I care about _you_, Linda, very, _very_ much. And if something _ever_ happened to you," Flash swallowed hard, and rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know what I'd do."

Linda kept staring at him. Her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. She pulled herself together and shook her head. "You don't mean that."

No sooner had the words left her mouth the Flash had set out to prove her wrong, his lips pressed against hers.

------

Flash wasn't exactly sure what had possessed him to kiss her, but he had stopped worrying about it the moment she had started kissing back.

He decided that this was in fact the greatest moment of his life. Screw his first kiss, getting his powers, joining the Titans, and joining the League. Kissing TV's Linda Park on a rooftop at night was the absolutely positively greatest moment in his life and he seriously doubted anything would ever be able to top it.

Except….

Except kissing her without the mask on.

Linda pulled away from him, her hands pressing against his chest. "I can't." She said. Her voice was stern. "I can't!"

Flash let go of her and she stepped away from him. "What, what's wrong?" He asked, trying to regain his composure.

"I can't, Flash. I'm sorry." She shook her head and started to pace. "I can't, I can't, I _can't_!" Linda stopped pacing, raking her fingers through her hair. "I mean, _this_," she smiled at him, "this was surprisingly great. But I…_I can't_." She turned away from him, looking at her feet. "There's someone else."

Flash's eyes widened to twice their normal size. "You don't have a boyfriend!" he exclaimed, a little too quickly.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I know. I know, there's just this guy. He's my friend but I really like him and its not fair to him if you and I…well," she looked over her shoulder and smiled again. "You know." She shook her head and looked away from him.

Flash smiled brightly, all of his teeth showing, the realization of her confession dawning on him.

He cleared his throat and forced a serious look on his face. He stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Linda," he said, taking her face in his other hand. "Just….just know, that if this _friend_ of yours ever breaks your heart…"

"I know, Flash," She said, raising a hand to caress his cheek.

They stood there for a few more moments, smiling softly at each other.

"Well," Flash whispered. "We better get you off this rooftop."

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **balletangel19**, **MissBusyWithSchoolandPeriod**, **Gotham's Princess** – cookies are my known weakness. Superman has kryptonite, and I…I have cookies, **sokerfreek922** – I'm hoping other League members will be make appearances soon, **Proponent of EVO**, **KidEternity**, **iamhollywood**, **Jaye**, **sweetmidnight**, **ColdFingertips** – lol! …_crazy_..., and **Shani** – hi, Shannon, for reviewing! 

The results are in, peeps: Reviews are mad crazy, yo. Word.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Justice League and any related characters, or Dane Cook. Though I would like to have both.

**A/N**: This might be the only chapter I'm able to post for a little while. I'd love to be able to know for sure when I can post again….but there's a hurricane coming at me. And I'm not sure how it's going to affect my future. But never fear! I will get more chapters written and/or posted as soon as I am physically able to do so.

Many, _many_ thanks to ColdFingertips for her help with this chapter. You're wonderful, Dani-kins. And I mean that in the least sarcastic way possible. Or…_do_ I?

Review responses are at the end.  
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Chapter Six  
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Linda had given her statement three times now to three different police officers. Why they couldn't just take it once and then share it amongst themselves she hadn't figured out yet. All she knew was that recounting the event over and over again was getting pretty annoying. She just wanted to go home and take a long, hot bath and figure out what the heck she was supposed to do from there.

"Linda!" A male voice whispered sharply.

She looked around, trying to locate the voice.

"Linda!" It said again. "Behind you!"

She spun around to see Gus sticking his head out of the undercover news van. "What?" She asked.

"Get in here! I'm uh," he glanced around at all the different police officers at the scene, none of which seemed too interested in him, "having trouble uploading the video on to tape."

Linda gave him a weary look but followed him inside the van. Monitors adorned the walls. Some were showing a live broadcast from Central City news; some were showing broadcasts from other, less popular news stations. But the one Gus was sitting in front of had been paused. Obviously that was the one showing the video she had taken earlier.

"Gus, you've done this like, a million times." She said, shutting the door behind her. "What's giving you trouble?"

"Uh," he began with a smile, "mostly this here." He messed with the controls, and the monitor kicked in to life.

"_What do you care?"_ Linda heard herself say.

She stared at the monitor, her eyes wide.

"_I care _very_ much. I care about you, Linda, very, _very _much. And if something ever happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."_ Flash had said.

She wrung her hands together.

"_You don't mean that." _She had replied with.

She swallowed over the giant, painful lump forming in her throat.

Linda gasped as she saw the Flash literally disappear from the camera shot, and then gasped again when the only thing visible on the camera was a bright, crimson suit.

"Yeah," Gus laughed, pausing the video. "That was my reaction the first time I saw this. Which, was, of course, right when it was happening. The boys and I got a big kick out of it."

She smacked him hard in the arm. "You have to get rid of it! You can't, _you can't_, turn this in to the police!"

He shrugged. "Linda, that would be a crime. Withholding information and all that. I can't just omit the good part off the video."

"Good part?" She echoed. "No, the good part is the part with Nico-"

"Oh, " he interrupted, "I beg to differ. _This_," he said, gesturing to the monitor, "this _is _news. The Scarlet Speedster has a _girlfriend_!"

She hit him again. "Gus Herman Wright, I know where you live!"

"Alright, alright," he laughed. "Calm down, kid." He handed her a videotape. "I had already left it off the video we're giving to the cops. I just wanted to mess with you a little. So ease up on that 'Herman' stuff."

Linda snatched the tape out of his hands. "Oh, I'll ease up alright," she said in a threatening way and opened the door.

"I'm…I'm not sure what that means," Gus replied as she stepped out of the van.

She glared at him and slammed the door.

------

**One Week Later**

Wally stepped out of the elevator in Linda's apartment complex, sighing and shoving his hands in his jean pockets. He hadn't contacted Linda in any way, shape, or form since that night on the rooftop, because he knew when he did he'd have to tell her the truth. He'd have to tell her those three little words he was absolutely terrified to say.

He made it to her apartment door. Slowly, he raised a hand and knocked.

The door swung open a few moments later, revealing a smiling Linda. "Hey, Wally!" She said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. "How are you doing, stranger?"

She let go of him and stood back so he could step inside her apartment. "Oh. You know. The same." He replied. He shut the door and smiled, looking around. There was a general sense of neatness everywhere he could see, except for the coffee table in the living room area. Papers and cables cluttered its small surface, with Linda's laptop topping the pile.

"How are you?" Wally asked.

Linda shrugged, walking over to her couch and sitting down. "Fine, fine. Trying to figure out my new camera."

He sat down next to her. "You got a new camera?"

She handed the small device to him. It was no bigger than the palm of his hand. "It's a video camera. Gus got it for me. I'm trying to figure out how to hook it up to the laptop and stuff," Linda said, waving a hand at the mess on her coffee table. "Another thrilling Friday night in my life," she laughed.

Wally admired the camera thoroughly. "That's awesome," he said, handing it back to her. "And he just bought it for you?"

She nodded and put the camera on her coffee table, on top of a rather large pile of papers. "Yeah. He said I deserved it." Her voice trailed off and Wally decided not to press the issue.

He knew what had happened with Nico, but no one else did. Word on the street was that an undercover reporter had discovered a prostitution ring run by Nico, but no one could say who the undercover reporter actually was yet. Judge's orders, or some other crap.

"Linda," he said, turning on the couch so he could look right at her face. "We….we need to talk."

She nodded again, biting on her bottom lip gently. "Yeah, there's something I need to tell you, Wally."

His heart fluttered a little and he smiled. "I need to tell you something too."

They stared at each other for a few moments, an uncomfortable silence settling in the room.

"Linda, I'm not-"

"Wally, I really-"

They laughed awkwardly, neither sure how to recover after simultaneously interrupting each other.

Linda shrugged and smiled up at him. "You go first."

Wally sighed loudly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Linda, I…"

He furrowed his brow. "What I mean to say is that I…"

He cleared his throat and leaned back. "Linda, I….I am…"

He shook his head and leaned forward. "Linda…"

Linda's eyebrows were knitted together, her mouth in a thin line. She wrung her hands together and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" She answered, hesitation in her voice.

Wally sighed again. "Linda, I'm-"

The phone in her kitchen rang, and Linda gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry," she said, getting up and walking away.

Wally fell face first into the couch. "I'm the Flash," he mouthed silently into the cushions. "I'm the Flash." He hit a fist into the blue cushion. Who knew three little words were so hard to say?

The transmitter in his ear clicked on. "Flash?" A familiar voice questioned.

He pushed on the transmitter and whispered, "Terrific?"

"Flash, there's a hostage situation in your sector," said Mr. Terrific.

Wally sat up and looked around. Linda was still in the kitchen.

"I, um…" he made a grumbling noise. "Yeah. Okay. Where?"

------

Linda hung up the phone and practically ran into the living room. "Wally, there's a hostage situation at First National Ba….Wally?" She looked around. "Wally, are you here?"

Her door was cracked open.

Linda growled in frustration. "Men!" She exclaimed, grabbing her new camera off the coffee table. "They should all be fed to wolves."

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **SeaWench**, **Hergrammaroffendsme**, **Spin-Firestorm** – hehe I hope this chapter answered your question , **ColdFingertips** – No, no. Horatio Cane is more like, "When it's dark outside…it's usually nighttime." And then he puts on the sunglasses, **HorizonFilm**, **Gotham's Princess** – I'm _so_ glad you got the Clark reference! I wasn't sure anyone would haha, **Jaye **– I'm really hoping she's in Flash and Substance. I'm also hoping CN starts airing new episodes before I die of old age, **sokerfreek922**, **rogueandkurt**, **Alta-Lemur**, **balletangel19** – Barbie has comic books? **KidEternity**, and **Casakitten**. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Justice League or any related characters. I do own, however, Gus Herman Wright, Benjamin Rae, and all of Rae's inventions. BWA HA HA…ha ha.

**A/N**: Sorry for the somewhat delayed post. My house is fine but we've been having electricity problems for about a week now. But, good news, everyone! I have this story pretty much finished. So, expect faster postage, dawgs. Word.

Also, I've bumped up the rating because I realized some curse words have slipped in to the story.

Thank you Jordan for beta-ing. Again.

Review responses found in the regular place.  
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Chapter Seven  
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John Stewart spotted the red-headed Thangarian fairly easily across the cafeteria. She was sitting alone at a table near the corner of the room. Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Earth's Green Lantern began his trek towards her. Without a sound he sat down, and diligently began to cut at his steak.

Shayera cast an unsure glance at him, following it up by the shyest of smiles. Delicately, she raised a chicken leg to her mouth.

John ate a bite of steak. "You know," he started once he had swallowed, "that's weird."

"Hmm?" She asked, chewing on a piece of chicken.

"You're eating bird." He said.

Shayera put the chicken leg down and wiped her mouth. "You're eating mammal."

John looked at the steak he was cutting. "Good point."

She took a spoon to her mashed potatoes. He continued cutting his steak.

After a while, he cleared his throat. "Shayera," he said, looking at her.

She licked her lips and looked back at him. Her green eyes were sparkling. "Yes, John?"

He stared at her, his mouth opening and closing, trying desperately to form a coherent sound but only managing silence.

"Shayera," he tried again.

"Yes, John?" She asked again.

His shoulders slumped and he went back to cutting his steak. "I saw that interview you did a couple of weeks ago. It was good."

"Oh," she said, and picked up her chicken leg. "Thanks."

------

"Alright, Terrific. Gimme the 411." The Flash ordered, a finger in his ear as he sped through Central City to the First National Bank.

"People still say '411'?" Mr. Terrific questioned.

Flash made a huffing noise. "Yes, people still say '411'. At least, all the cool people anyway. But, really, information would be nice. Who's holding hostages at the bank?"

"Benjamin Rae," Mr. Teriffic said. "He was a local inventor in your town. Developed the 'Hot Dog Heater', actually. The name is a little redundant, but it certainly makes one heck of a hot dog. He wasn'ta troublemaker until a couple of months ago. Held up a gas station using an amplified taser gun."

"Oh, right. I remember that. He was released because he was a first time offender," said Flash. The bank in question was coming into view, a police barricade around the building.

"Mmhmm," Mr. Terrific replied. "Well, now he's claiming to have a Supersonic Gun."

Flash stopped running to survey the scene. "A what now?" There were more police officers than he'd seen at any bank robbery before.

He squinted. The police commissioner was holding a megaphone to his mouth and bellowing out something. Standing next to the commissioner was the mayor.

_That's unusual._

"A Supersonic Gun. Like Black Canary's scream. The gun emits a sonic shockwave with enough force to knock down a wall. Or so he claims. Anyway, a half an hour ago he had ten hostages, but he released nine of them."

"Who's the one he kept?"

"The mayor's daughter."

Flash sighed. It all made sense now. "Crap," he whispered. The mayor's daughter, Christine Baez, was one of those girls that you had to love, no matter who you were. She was Homecoming Queen; absolutely beautiful, tall and blond with the big green eyes. And she was smart. From what he could remember, she was only eighteen, fresh out of high school and going off to Yale soon on a full scholarship.

He sighed again. "Guess I gotta go save her."

"I guess so." Mr. Terrific said.

------

"Among the items on Rae's list of demands are a ride to the airport, and a private jet to take him out of the country." Linda gripped her microphone tighter and looked directly into the camera lens. "He's saying that if all of his demands are not met in the next half an hour he will kill Miss Baez."

"Just how much money is Rae requesting?" the voice of Don Gerard, the male anchor currently behind the desk at CCN, came through on her receiver.

"Eighty million dollars in cash," she responded.

Don kept talking, presumably to the viewers at home watching the live news, and Gus panned the camera to the police barricade and the large crowd of spectators who came to gawk. The wind picked up and Linda tried to ignore her hair swaying about. The familiar breeze almost caused a smile to erupt on her face, but she managed to subdue it.

She was just unofficially informed of a fantastic new development, one she wasn't sure if she should share. But the news brought her some comfort.

The Flash had arrived.

Christine Baez might have a chance after all.

------

Things weren't going the way Flash had planned.

At all.

Not even close.

At first things had looked pretty good for him. He had had the upper hand. He came flying into the bank and with one punch knocked out Rae. His gun, which was surprisingly small, had fallen to the floor.

But then Flash had tried to get to the girl. She was squealing behind her duck-taped mouth and shaking her head violently. Flash just ignored it, figuring she was freaked out from being held hostage.

He shouldn't have ignored it.

He went running to her, and inches away from being able to touch her, his feet hit something sticky that held him in place. And though his feet stopped moving, the rest of his body didn't, and he fell hard to the ground, knocking his head on the tiled floor.

That had been all of twenty seconds ago. Rae had since recovered from his semi-unconscious state and had retrieved his gun. Christine was still tied and lying on the floor, though her squealing had subsided. And Flash himself couldn't move, though the room around him was spinning rather profusely.

He really should have looked for traps, especially after finding out the bad guy was an inventor.

He really really should have.

Really.

"You've ruined everything!" Rae screamed, the gun shaking in his hand. "You've ruined EVERYTHING! Everything!" His voice was trembling. "Months of planning, and for what!"

Flash tried to squirm out of the substance, but this moved proved futile. "Easy, Benjamin. If you just give up the girl, things can still end okay for you."

He shook his head frantically. "No! No it won't! Things will never be okay! You ruined everything! _You ruined everything_!"

Rae pulled the trigger and sent a violent shockwave at Flash.

The hero in red screamed; the world around him crumbled and faded into darkness.

------

The Earth shook, and Linda's immediate reaction was to duck and cover. She turned around as soon as the explosion had subsided. A gasp escaped from behind her lips.

A large chunk of the east side of the building had been torn into pieces.

"Flash!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet.

"Linda!" Gus's rough voice called, grabbing her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Benjamin Rae walked out of the bank, dragging Christine under his arm. She was bound and gagged, and he was pressing a gun against her temple.

"The Flash was in there," she exclaimed, shrugging Gus off. Her transmitter was ringing with questions from the anchors behind the desk, and she ripped it out of her ear and threw it the ground with a disgusted look on her face. "He could be hurt!"

He turned his camera to the criminal. "You have a job to do."

Linda reached for her purse and pulled out the camera Gus had given her. "You bet I do," she practically growled, and took off in a sprint towards to damaged part of the building.

"Linda!" he called after her. He kept his camera on the scene before him. "_Damn it_!"

------

The camera was on.

She managed to keep it steady as she walked around rubble.

She managed to keep her hands still even though the rest of her body was shaking.

She _was_ a professional, after all.

"Flash!" Linda called, desperately searching for anything red amongst the mounds of dry wall, wood, and concrete. "Come on, Flash! Answer me!"

She maneuvered her way around a rather large chunk of fallen wall. She kept the camera steady. "Flash!"

She stepped over another piece of dry wall. She kept the camera steady. "_Come on_, Flash!"

She moved around what she could only assume used to be a chair. She kept the camera steady. "Please! Please…"

Linda gasped. She had found him. He was partially buried under rubble; the blast had torn up his costume, the right side ripped into shreds. Most of his mask was gone.

She kept the camera steady. This was amazing footage: the Flash partially unmasked. He had a handsome face, though it had been scratched up from the blast.

Vibrant red hair poked out from what left of his mask.

….vibrant red hair…

_Vibrant red hair._

The camera fell from her hands and dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Wally," she whispered, her brown eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Wally."

Linda ran to his side. She kneeled next to him, noticing an odd shiny substance around the parts of him that weren't buried under rubble. She tried to avoid it. "Wally," she said, checking his pulse, "can you hear me?" His pulse was weak. "Come on, Wallace," she started pushing rubble off of him. "Please wake up."

She noticed a small gray device by his ear, and carefully picked it up. It reminded her of the transmitter she used on location to talk to the anchors in the newsroom. "Oh, please," she begged the device, and stuck it in her ear.

Hesitantly, she pressed it on. "Hello?"

"_Flash_?" A male voice questioned. "There's been news of an explosion. Are you injured?"

Linda took a deep breath. "This is….this is a friend of Flash's. He's been hurt. And Benjamin Rae is getting away. Please, please send help."

There was a long pause on the other end of the transmitter, and Linda felt her heart stop beating. Finally, the male voice from earlier broke the tension, "Two League members are being teleported to your coordinates. They will be with you momentarily."

She sighed, and gently caressed Wally's face. "It's gonna be okay," she told him. "It's going to be okay."

Two streaks of light appeared in the middle of the bank, cackling into life forms. One Linda recognized immediately as the Green Lantern. The other was a blond girl about half the man's size, dressed in a mini-skirt.

"Over here!" Linda called.

The two Justice League members turned and saw her. Green Lantern's face fell.

"Oh. God," he said, his voice low and quiet.

Linda pointed at the door of the bank. "He's getting away!"

Green Lantern shook his head and started running towards the reporter. "I'll take care of Flash. Supergirl, you go take care of Rae."

The blond nodded and flew out of the bank.

Green Lantern knelt down next to her and started shoving rubble off of his fallen comrade. She helped him, blinking back frightened tears.

"His pulse is weak," Linda told the hero.

"How long has he been out for?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Five minutes. Ten maybe."

The rubble was off of Wally, and Green Lantern scooped him up in his arms. "Can you get to some place safe?" He asked Linda.

"Yes." She said, giving a hesitant nod.

"Go there now," he said, and pressed on the transmitter in his ear. "Two for beam up."

Linda stood up, pulling the transmitter she possessed out of her ear. "Here," she said, thrusting it at him.

Green Lantern took it from her, a weak smile on his face.

A streak of light appeared around him, cackling loudly until it vanished, taking both heroes with it.

Linda held her face in her hands. She sniffled loudly, tears falling out of her eyes despite her best attempts to stop them. "Oh, Wally," she whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She wiped the tears off her face, sniffling again; she noticed, out of the corner of her eyes, that the camera she had dropped was still on.

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **youshallbemyspooky**, **Gotham's Princess** – I am totally up for an Oreos and iced mocha party, **balletangel19** – Wow. I had no idea she had comic books. That's actually pretty cool, **Flying-Grayson**, **rogueandkurt** – Yeah, I am pretty excited lol, **HorizonFilm**, **Spin-Firestorm**, **smile7499, Jaye**, and **essence of jelly** – Dane's a bamf. I hope you have his new CD so I don't have to explain that lol, for reviewing! 

Review.

It's what all the cool kids are doing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Justice League, any related characters, that John/Rex bonding moment from TOAFT pt. 2, or Jell-O even.

**A/N**: Well, it looks like we're nearing the end of the story everybody. This is the last to the last…to the last post. I think.

Jordan rocks hardcore.

Review responses at the end.  
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Chapter Eight  
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Linda rubbed her eyes. Her recent confrontation with her boss was still fresh in her memory. He hadn't been too happy with her.

_Miss Park, you _left_ the scene! _

_I know, I know. But Mr. Grant…I, I got some video of the Flash you aren't going to believe. Just please, _please_ give me one more chance._

_Alright. Alright, but this video _better_ be amazing._

_It is, Mr. Grant. I promise you, it is._

Linda grimaced at the memory and stared at her computer. She'd been working on it for hours. She could feel a headache coming on. With a deep breath, she moved her mouse over the laptop's screen, and played the video she had edited.

She hated watching it. She hated seeing him, lying there, without a mask.

She felt so betrayed. So hurt.

So stupid.

The video ended, and her mouse hovered. Should she save it? Should she actually hand it over to Mr. Grant? Or should she delete it, and risk losing her job? Was he _worth_ the risk of being fired from her dream job?

Minutes passed, and Linda's mouse hovered unmoving. Finally, she made a choice, and clicked.

------

John stood outside his friend's room, shifting on his feet. _He_ had been given the job of telling Wally just _who_ had discovered his body. Sure, Clark had gone in a couple of hours ago, and told Wally not to worry - that Supergirl had saved the mayor's daughter, and Rae was in custody and the police were questioning him.

Sure. That had been the easy part. But the hard part rested on his shoulders alone. He had been stalling until the police were finished questioning Rae. But now, they had uncovered his motives. And he couldn't stall any longer.

So, John _had_ to go in there.

He had to go in there and…

John sighed.

He had to go in there and tell his friend who had found him.

He stood up straight and reminded himself what he did when the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"I just gotta plant my feet," he said, and he pressed the button that opened the door to Wally's room.

------

Wally loved Jell-O. Especially the red kind. Man, the red kind was the best Jell-O ever invented. Unfortunately, the Watchtower sickbay only had the green Jell-O. Now, the green kind was pretty good, but it didn't really compare to the red kind.

He still ate it, however, with the voracity of a starving man.

The door to the recovering speedster's private room opened, and Earth's Green Lantern entered, sparing a slight smile. "You don't have to inhale your food to enjoy it, you know."

Wally finished off a carton and shrugged. "I find inhaling Jell-o is the only proper way to eat the substance."

John shook his head, sitting down in a chair beside the bed. "How you feeling, man?"

"Better," he said with a sigh in his voice. "Much better."

"That's good," said John. He leaned back in the chair, and propped his elbows on the armrests. "Listen, Wally. I have to tell you something."

"Hmm?" Wally reached for another carton of Jell-O. "Do you like red Jell-O or green Jell-O better?" He asked. "I, personally, like red Jell-O better." He started eating.

John rolled his eyes. "Wally-"

"You know, I wonder if I like the red kind better because my costume is red." He ate another spoonful. "I bet you like the green kind, don't you? Because you're the _Green_ Lantern."

John cleared his throat. "Look-"

"I mean, don't get me wrong. The green kind is okay. It's just not as good as the red kind."

The Green Lantern rubbed his temples in a counter clockwise motion. "This kid wouldn't last a minute in the military, I don't care what powers he'd have," he muttered under his breath.

"I bet everyone likes a specific color of Jell-O depending on their favorite color." Wally stated. He licked his lips. "But what if your favorite color is black? I wouldn't want to eat black Jell-O."

John 'mmhmm'ed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Wally finished off his Jell-O and looked at his friend expectantly. "Did the police find out what Rae had planned?" He asked.

John's brow furrowed. "Uh, yeah. Turns out Rae was a Wayne Enterprises employee. He worked at the electronics division located in Central City. He was fired about six months ago when his inventions became a little too 'life endangering'.

"When you ran into him at the bank he had just killed his former supervisor. Apparently his plan was to get enough money to start a new, comfortable life somewhere else. But the police showed up before he had actually managed to rob the bank, so he started improvising."

Wally nodded. "Huh. What, uh, what was that sticky stuff around Christine?"

John scratched his ear. "That was something Rae cooked up just incase you showed up, actually. It's kinda like glue for the super fast. Normally, it's just a slightly annoying gooey substance, but as soon as high friction hits it, it holds tight. It doesn't hold tight for _long_, but for those first five minutes it's pretty much impossible to get out of.

"But, look, Wally. That's not what I had to tell you."

The redhead raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh?"

Green Lantern sighed and ran a hand over his baldhead. "When I found you, well…your mask and costume were in shreds."

"Oh, I knew that." Wally interrupted. "I've seen the costume. But don't worry, I have extras."

John nodded. "Right. But, well, I wasn't the first person to find you."

The eyebrow on Wally's forehead was raised higher.

He swallowed, shrugging slightly. "_Linda Park_ was the one who found you first." He watched Wally's jaw drop. "She, she used your transmitter to contact Mr. Terrific."

Wally shook his head fiercely. "I was going to tell her!" He exclaimed, sounding rather defensive. "I _swear_ I was going to! But, oh God. Oh crap. Oh God! Oh crap! This…this…." He hung his head. "This really _sucks_."

He held his face in his hands. "God! I was going to tell her! I really was. But she was just…she hugged me. And we sat down and she showed me the camera that Gus got her because she was almost killed by mobsters! And I tried to tell her. I really, _really_ did. But she was just so pretty, sitting there. And then her phone rang! And Mr. Terrific made me leave and save Christine!"

John patted his shoulder. "It'll be okay."

The redhead gawked at him. "How can you say that?"

"Wally," he tried, "it's better that she knows. I mean, this probably was a worse way of finding out than you just telling her. But since you were _too scared_ to tell her, at least it's out in the open now. You shouldn't keep secrets from the people you love."

"I was _not _too scared to tell her!" Wally exclaimed indignantly. "I would have _so_ told her. But my vocal chords…they weren't, you know, _cooperating_ with my…_non_-fear."

John rolled his eyes. "Okay, you being scared or not scared really isn't the issue. I mean…_you were_ too scared to tell her, but we won't get into that right now. The point-"

"Wait, wait." Wally interrupted. "You still think I was too scared to tell her?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Yeah."

Wally blinked up at John for a few long moments. He shook his head. "Okay! So what if I _was_ too scared to tell her? So _what_? It's not like I'm the _only_ one in this room keeping secrets from the woman I love, because if _that_ were true, you would be with Shayera right now!"

John froze. He stared at Wally, dumbfounded, before finally regaining composure and glaring. "This isn't about me and Shayera right now, Wally."

Wally shrugged. "But you just said-"

"It's more complicated than your situation."

It was Wally's turn to stare dumbfounded. "More complicated? We're both in love triangles John, except mine only involves _two_ people. How is your situation more complicated than that? I mean, granted, your situation involves _four_ people…"

He sighed, standing up. "It just….things are so…"

"John, if you love somebody," Wally began, "you should tell them everything. You shouldn't keep secrets from the people you love."

He glared again and started walking towards the door. "I hate it when you use my statements against me."

Wally chuckled as John left the room.

------

John walked into the sickbay common room, pausing momentarily when he spied her reading a magazine. In all honesty, he shouldn't have been shocked to see her there. Wally was just as much her friend as he was his. But to see her, after the conversation he had just had, sitting all alone and reading a magazine – a _fashion_ magazine, no less – startled him a little.

He shook his head and started walking to her. Shayera noticed him coming. She put down the magazine and stood.

"How is he?" She asked, her eyebrows narrowing in concern.

John gave a shrug. "He's fine. His doctor said that he should be able to go home in the morning."

"Oh, that's good," Shayera said, obviously relived. "I should go see him." She started to walk away, but John shot his hand out and grabbed her forearm. "What?" She snapped.

He sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "We…we need to talk, Shayera."

She studied him quizzically, pulling her arm free. She nodded unsurely. "Okay."

John looked into her unearthly green eyes, thinking of all the different ways he could start this conversation. There were so many things he had wanted to tell her. So many speeches he had planned out. So many confessions she had to hear.

He decided to kiss her.

He had never been too good with words, anyway.

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **Gotham's Princess**, **Flying-Grayson**, **Jill**, **Agent-G** – Linda is kind of like this in the comics. But I did take some liberties with her character. Haha, no Benjamin Rae isn't too bright. He's modeled after my ex-boyfriend, actually, **angellwings**, **adiversion**, **sweetmidnight**, **Spin-Firestorm** – good question! She, well, she didn't. She got there around the time Flash was talking to Mr. Terrific. After Flash and Mr. Terrific talked about Christine, they talked about the layout of the bank and the best way he should enter. While they were doing that, Linda set up. By the time Flash actually entered the bank, Linda had only been on air for a minute or two. Yeah. That sounds okay. ;), **Super Chocolate Bear** – didn't Kim Mai Guest voice Katma? I seem to attach her name to that character for some reason, **smile7499** – lol no. Supergirl got there just in time and saved her, **sokerfreek922**, **koalared**, **Casakitten** – lol! Word, and **Jaye** – Not exactly Shayera. But close :), for reviewing!

Don't stop believing.

Review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: Justice League and any related characters and the song Dumb Girls by Lucy Woodward all belong to someone other than myself. I've come to accept that. And so should all of you.

**A/N**: Well, everybody, this is the next to the last post. I'll have the epilogue up in a couple of days, which is surprisingly even shorter than this thing.

Jordan is amazing.

Thanks to Dani for pointing out that her name is in fact Wood_ward_ and not Wood_row_.

Two guesses where the review responses are.  
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Chapter Nine  
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Wally was so nervous he was twitching. Apparently, one of his powers was the ability to twitch at super speed. He couldn't figure out how on Earth he could ever use it in a fight. It wasn't very helpful, and it certainly wasn't attractive.

He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself outside Linda's door. He tried to think of something he could say to her, but he was only coming up with, "_Hey, Linda! How's it going? Guess you found out I'm the Flash. Yeah. Haha. Funny story, really. Do you want to hear about it_?" and he had a sneaking suspicion that would only result in her hitting him.

He knocked on her door and waited, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Wally could hear her walk up to the door, and supposed she was looking through the peep-whole. The door swung open and Linda immediately glared at him.

"What do _you_ want?" she snapped. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and her nose was pink. Her black hair was in a sloppy bun on the top of her head, and she was wearing sweats.

He had never seen her look so un-put-together before.

Wally took this as his only opportunity to get inside her apartment and zipped in. "Linda," he said from behind her.

She screamed and jumped, spinning around. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" She exclaimed, smacking him in the arm. "Stupid jerk!"

Linda shut the door and crossed her arms against her chest. "Now, _**what** do you want_?"

He rubbed his face. "Linda, I know that you know."

She arched an eyebrow, her lips pursed.

"I was going to tell you."

"OOOOH, _sure _you were!" She threw her arms in the air. "What do you take me for Wallace? Some kind of idiot?"

Wally held up his hands in surrender. "I swear I was going to. Remember when I came over before the whole…_incident_? And I had trouble saying something?"

She glared at him half-heartedly and nodded; her hands placed on her hips in a menacing sort of way.

"I was trying to say, 'Linda, I'm the Flash.' But it just wasn't coming out. And then you left and Mr. Terrific told me there was a hostage situation and….and it just didn't work out the way I wanted it to." He rubbed his face again.

"I swear I was going to tell you. But before then I was scared to because I really, _really_ like you, Linda. And I thought you liked me…well, _this_ part of me. But for a while you hated the Flash. And how could I tell you I was the guy you hated?

"But then you seemed to like both parts of me, and I was going to tell you. I _swear_ I was going to tell you. And I am _so_ sorry that I didn't."

Linda shook her head, tears leaking out from her brown eyes. "Damn it, Wally! I _hate _you!"

"Don't you believe me?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"Of COURSE I believe you! And _that's_ the problem." She sniffled. "This kind of stuff only happens to dumb girls." Linda pulled a tissue out of the box on her coffee table and wiped her nose. "I think that's a song."

Wally's eyebrows knitted together. "_Oh_, it _is_! By um…by Lucy somebody."

"Woodward," Linda finished for him.

He nodded. "Yeah, Lucy Woodward." She sniffled loudly and blew her nose in her tissue, and Wally sighed. "Linda, I know how you feel."

She turned a fierce glare on him, angry tears rolling down her cheeks. "You _know_ how I feel? _You_ know how _I_ feel!" Linda shoved a finger in his face. "You _know_ what it feels like when the _man_ that you….and the _guy _that you really, really….turn out to be the same person? _You know_ what that feels like? You know what it feels like to find out that you've been _played_ for a sucker by the _one_ guy you actually _trusted?_! _You **know** what that feels like?_!"

"Well," Wally began, scratching the back of his head, "not…exactly."

She punched him in the shoulder. "I lost my job because of you!"

He rubbed his shoulder. "What?"

"After Rae shot you, he took Christine outside of the bank and I left the scene to go find _you_!" Linda backed away from him, glaring and crying at the same time. "I took my camera with me, and I got footage of you without your mask. But I…I couldn't. I couldn't _bring_ myself to turn itin."

She sat on the armrest of her couch, hiding her face behind her hands. Her shoulders shook as she cried. "God, Wally! I wanted him to be you." Linda looked up at him, her lips trembling. "I wanted him to be you _so_ badly."

He went to her, trying to wrap her up in his arms. But she pushed him away, slapping him.

"Let's get ONE thing straight, Wallace Rudolph West!" Her finger was back in his face, pointing accusingly. He rubbed his cheek and nodded. "If you're going to be my boyfriend, you have to be completely honest with me. You can't keep anything from me anymore. Understood?"

Wally nodded again. "Yes, yes. Of course, Linda. I – wait." His hand left his cheek, and he gawked at Linda. "'Boyfriend'?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Do you have a _problem_ with that?"

"Oh, _no_! No, no, no, no, no. _No_."

"Good," Linda said, wiping the tears off her face. "Kiss me now."

Wally did what he was told.

He also decided that kissing Linda Park without his mask on was in fact the greatest moment of his life.

* * *

**A/N**: I would like to thank **Casakitten**, **Gotham's Princess** – oh good! I'm glad you liked John. Lord knows how many times I re-wrote that little part where he's outside Wally's door, **Agent-G**, **Super Chocolate Bear** – well, whoever she voiced in the past, I can't wait to hear her as Linda, **Flying-Grayson** – red Jell-O also happens to be my favorite as well :), **koalared** – lol, I agree wholeheartedly, **taylordoesn'tmakeeyesblue**r – lol! Well, my ex-boyfriend isn't so much an inventor, but he definitely isn't too bright, **sweetmidnight**, **smile7499**, and **HorizonFilm**, for reviewing! 

First you read, and then you review. You see? It's the circle of life.


	10. The Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Justice League or any related characters, Dakota Fanning, pirates, Disney movies, Jack Sparrow, One-Eyed Willie, or The Goonies. But Sal's Diner is mine, suckers.

**A/N:** Ahh, the last installment of the story. The icing on the cake, if you will. I hope it's sweet and mushy enough for all of you. Also, since ff.n has established this new review reply-o-matic thingie majig, I'm not "allowed" to put review responses at the bottom of the page anymore. So…um, well, many thanks to everyone who took the time to review! You all are fan-freakin-tastic.

Thank you Jordan and Dani for the alpha and beta-ing. :)  
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The Epilogue  
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Linda Park and her boyfriend of a little over three months sat at their favorite booth in their favorite diner, smiling at each other around the straws of their sodas. It was a fairly average Friday night for the two of them.

He reached for her hand across the booth, and smiled brightly. "I love you, Linda."

"I love you too, Wally." She said and smiled just as bright.

Wally raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Oh!" Linda exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you! WKEY-TV offered me a job this morning."

"No way! That's awesome, babe." He ran his thumb over her knuckles. "What position?"

She cleared her throat. "Well, um…I'll be a field reporter. I'll be doing fluff pieces again. BUT! It pays twice as much as CCN did. And the best part is that they're hiring Gus too. So, he'll be my camera man."

He smiled. "That's wonderful."

She nodded. "I'm excited. I start Monday."

"Start what on Monday, exactly?" A female voice asked, and Linda pulled her hand away from Wally.

She tossed her black hair over her shoulder and smiled at the couple joining them at their booth. When she had first started dating Wally, the idea of them publicly hanging out with other superheroes terrified her to no end. It wasn't so much _being_ with other superheroes. It was someone figuring out who Wally was through his association with other superheroes The thought of Wally being vulnerable was absolutely panic attack inducing – not that she would ever tell him that.

But these two were Wally's best friends. And she had learned to accept them. Even though they were unmasked when they fought the bad guys, they tried to make sure no one would recognize them.

It was easier for John. He put on a Tigers baseball cap and sunglasses. Shayera had to get a charm from a magician in the League to hide her wings. She had pulled her red hair loosely into a bun and square glasses perched on her porcelain nose.

They looked so average you would never guess they put on spandex and saved the world on a regular basis.

Shayera sat down next to Linda, and John sat down next to Wally.

"My new job at WKEY-TV," Linda replied, careful not to knock into Shayera's hidden wings as she sat down.

Shayera nodded approvingly. "That's great, Linda."

"You ordered without us?" John asked Wally, gesturing at the sodas on the table.

The redhead waved a hand at the waitress. "Just the sodas. You _are_ late."

"By five minutes!" John exclaimed.

"We were thirsty," Linda said and gave a shrug.

The waitress walked over to their booth, a happy smile on her face. "Hey guys. The usuals?"

"Yes."

"Mm hmm."

"Please."

"Actually," John began, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to try the barbeque chicken dinner."

She nodded and walked off. "It'll be out soon, guys."

The other occupants of the table stared at John, their eyes wide and mocking. "Well, _someone_ is feeling adventurous tonight," Shayera said.

John shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "I felt like a change."

Shayera flashed her boyfriend a teasing look; he grinned at her.

Wally sipped at his soda. "Do you guys know what movie you want to see?"

"That new Dakota Fanning movie looks interesting," Linda offered.

Shayera shook her head. "I want to see that movie with the pirates."

"Oh yeah," John chimed in. "That one looked good."

"Isn't there a new Disney movie out?" Wally asked.

Shayera narrowed her eyes. "You mean that animated one? Wally….you are too old for animated movies."

"Says _you_!" Wally exclaimed. "I, personally, don't believe anyone can ever be too old for an animated movie."

Linda smiled to herself and leaned back, choosing not to jump in the oncoming argument. They were such an odd group…one she never expected to be involved with in a million years. But, nevertheless, they spent every Friday night together: first at Sal's, and then at the movies.

And then Saturday the three of them would go back to work for the League and she wouldn't get to see her boyfriend again until Tuesday. Oh well, at least he wasn't clingy.

Linda rested her chin on the palm of her hand and watched her boyfriend argue with their friends about animation. The job of a superhero's girlfriend wasn't easy. It involved a lot of sacrifices. She only got to see him a few days out of the week. She worried every time he went on a mission that he'd never come back. She worried that someone would figure out his secret identity. She worried, selfishly, that someone would come after her because of who he was. She worried about the future, and if he'd even be around to have one with.

It felt like she spent all of her time worrying about him, instead of actually being with him.

"Linda?" Wally asked, pulling her out of her trailing thoughts. He took her hand in his again. "What do you think?"

She looked around the table noticing that everyone was looking at her expectantly. "Hmm?"

"You wanna see the pirate movie?" John asked.

"Oh," she smiled and nodded. "Sure!"

"That settles it then," John said. "One questions remains, though. Who's the better pirate: Jack Sparrow or One-Eyed Willie?"

Shayera rolled her eyes. "One-Eyed Willie was dead. He doesn't count."

John stared at her, mouth agape. "Doesn't count? After all the traps he set up? _Doesn't count_? It's the _Goonies_, Shayera."

Wally kissed Linda's hand again, winking at her before joining in the argument.

No, the job of a superhero's girlfriend wasn't easy.

But Linda loved her job very much.

* * *

The End. 


End file.
